Watching the Bowl come down was a little bittersweet. To see how painfully easily the Bowl could be reduced to bits with nothing more powerful than a claw was a sad and clear reminder that rebuilding was a necessity if Ojai was to have any performance structure at all. As Jeff is fond of saying, "The community won, not the termites." And he's right. Tearing down the old Bowl was the first step toward something better, for both the Ojai community and the Festival family.
Are there other performance spaces where the space is such a critical element in the concert experience? For those who heard it this year, Messiaen's Vingt Regards will always and forever be about the interplay of Eric Huebner's tremendous virtuosity with Ojai's active aviary community (who behaved throughout as though the concert was being played strictly for them). Listening to the crickets chirp during Takemitsu's Rain Tree has altered how we hear that piece today. And the sound of the rustling trees has accompanied Dawn Upshaw as beautifully as any piano could.
The good news is that the new Bowl will mimic the old in many important ways. It will retain the same iconic look of the old Bowl, while adding much needed backstage space, and critical upgrades to the seating. And of course, with the many beautiful trees all around, we expect that the crickets and birds will continue to be our friendly neighbors.
Tearing down the old Bowl is the first sign of the exciting changes to come. And so we say, with great fondness and gratitude, thank you for your many years of service dear old Bowl. We won't forget you.
- Christiana Thomas
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( 3 / 722 )It's hard to believe that four days have come and gone so quickly. We enjoyed seeing returning Festival friends and meeting new enthusiasts. It was great to even pair some of our alumni patrons with Festival first-timers who gave them great tips on Ojai and shared their own favorite memories. We look forward to seeing you next year and feel free to post your own 2010 highlights!
We'll be posting reviews and photos soon, so keep a look out!
-- Gina Gutierrez
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( 2.9 / 1006 )
After Ensemble Modern's arrival to LAX last night, Ojai rehearsals began at 10am this morning and are now in full swing. Ensemble Modern has their own set of assistants, who, together with our crew, execute stage changes efficiently and so far, without siginificant hitches. Today's rehearsal program has involved a Schoenberg, Stravinksy, and Benjamin piece with various combinations of about 10 or so musicians from Ensemble Modern. I have had the privilege of driving various members back and forth between their place of stay, the Ventura Crowne PLaza Hotel, and the Libbey Bowl. My interatcions with them tell me that they are a group of down-to-earth people. No sour musicians here: everyone seems very passionate about what they do and energized to be in Ojai. One specific car trip today involved two french horn players, a trombonist and trumpeter- we crammed into my Toyota Camry at the Ventura hotel and set out for the 2o'clock rehearsal at Libbey.
I don't think I've laughed so much one car ride: Jokes abounded, songs were sung, cultural stereotypes were discussed... which brings me to my next point, that Ensemble Modern is extremely international. One might assume the Frankfurt-based ensemble would contain mostly Germans, but players also hail from Korea, Japan, Israel, and Argentina, and those are just the ones I've met. I'm impressed at the general cameraderie, the fabulous team work and the all around abundance of smiles that occur backstage. If the rest of the week is going to be anything like this first day of rehearsals, we're going to have an amazing time.
- Margaret Crites
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( 3 / 902 )
When I was in high school my father took me to a screening of Monterey Pop, the well-known documentary film about the 1967 Monterey Pop Music Festival. Despite historic performances by the Who, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix (in which he famously smashed and burned his guitar on stage), what made the greatest and most lasting impression on me was Ravi Shankar’s performance of North Indian Classical music on the sitar accompanied by Alla Rakha on tabla. In the midst of earning my Jazz Composition degree at Berklee College of Music in Boston, I decided to take a semester off and travel to India. There, Pandit Amar Nath Mishra of Banaras introduced me to the fundamentals of sitar, which has since become my principal instrument. When I returned to the US, I brought a small batch of recordings with me, including a copy of Rainy Season Ragas by Ustad Aashish Khan.
Years later, while researching potential graduate study programs, I was shocked one day to find that Aashish Khan was teaching at the California Institute of the Arts. One of the world’s most skilled and knowledgeable sarode players, Aashish ji learned primarily from his grandfather, Baba Allauddin Khan, founder of the Maihar style of music. Aside from being an accomplished and versatile performer, Allauddin Khan sahib was most well known for training a slew of world-class artists including Ustad Ali Akbar Khan (Aashish ji’s father), Pandit Nikhil Banerjee, Pandit Ravi Shankar, and of course, Ustad Aashish Khan. From his grandfather, Aashish ji learned a highly refined and polished form of musical expression, with great depth and beauty in the Alap (or unaccompanied improvisation) and incredible control and feeling in the intricate rhythms of the gats (or sections accompanied by the tabla).
Having chosen CalArts as the place to pursue my graduate education in North Indian music performance, I find myself among a handful of students who are blessed to have the opportunity to study with such a masterful musician. Just as important as Aashish Khan’s musical skill and pedigree is his devotion to teaching and his willingness to share his knowledge. From the first day, Aashish ji welcomed me and has done his best to impart as much as possible from the vast ocean of music.
It is a pleasure and honor to be accompanying my teacher on the tanpura at the Ojai Festival this year. I know that listeners familiar with Indian Classical music will enjoy his exposition of the melodies he chooses to present, and I hope that new listeners will come away feeling inspired to continue their exploration of the genre. Enjoy!
-- John Stephens
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( 2.9 / 716 )From this week's Los Angeles Times Magazine:
“You’re in this small town. You’ve just heard a concert. You go into a coffee shop, where you see audience members, or even the artists, and overhear people debating what was just performed...Music should provoke a reaction. It’s perfectly acceptable for you to like something. It’s also acceptable for you not to like something.”
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